Remembering WWI: Resources for Educators

The centennials of World War One offer many opportunities for educators to guide students in examining the war’s history and impact. Teaching about the war can be done within the context of a range of subject matter, from literature and poetry to social and cultural history. The Evanston History Center offers this list of resources as a starting point for lesson planning. Numerous sites, such as the Library of Congress and the National Archives, offer primary sources such as maps, photographs, and oral history for use in the classroom. (Many are downloadable). Many also offer lesson plans.

Please note: While most sites listed below maintain access to some materials that are in the public domain, it is up to each user to determine the rights related the use of the materials housed in the collections listed below.

Choose a topic from these teacher created lesson plans. Most plans are targeted for students in grades 6-12, but there are also some that are appropriate for grades 3-8. Plans are broken into topics, including WWI, but also into related topics such as poetry, women’s history, etc.

Lesson plans, primary source links, and presentation and activities are available here.

The site includes the following lesson:

World War I: What Are We Fighting For Over There?Lesson OverviewThe Great War of 1914-1918 significantly shaped the course of the twentieth century, both at home and abroad. How can this pivotal event be personalized and brought to life for students in the new millennium? Unfortunately, increasingly fewer survivors of the World War I era are alive today to directly share their recollections of this historical time. Yet, by delving into the unique resources of American Memoryand by creating World War I period newspapers of differing perspectives, students can gain an enduring understanding of The Great War.

(“American Memory” offers primary sources such as maps and photographs that are available for download and for use in Power Point presentations.)

This is a terrific site to find links to a wide range of WWI related sites and materials. The subjects covered are broad and the links provided will take visitors to numerous types of sites, such as the BBC. It also connects with collections from countries other than the United States, including Germany, Canada and Italy.

President Harry S. Truman served as an artillery Captain in World War One. This site has a number of lesson plans on a range of subjects related to the war, from women and the war to poetry. The lesson plans are in both word and powerpoint formats and are downloadable.

The site also has a large range of primary source material, including oral histories and documents related to the Truman’s military service. It also includes an extensive, searchable digitized photograph collection.

The PBS website has a wonderful array of lesson plans under the title, “The Great War and the Shaping of the 20thCentury.” The materials are related to an 8 part series on the war that first aired in 1996. These lesson plans will mostly be suitable for high school students. They cover the war from more of a political and military point of view, tracing events from the war’s beginning to its aftermath. Eight separate lesson plans are available and are downloadable as pdfs. Supplemental resources, such as maps and other links, are included in the lessons.

The University of Illinois offers105 digitized French posters from World War I. The posters are part of the collection of the University of Illinois Archives. The collection is searchable and can also be browsed by poster. Educators can also find information about the artists and themes, and they can also read about how the posters changed over time.

Sites (local and regional):

School tours to the Dawes House can include a look at the various WWI memorabilia contained within the 1896 mansion. The house was the former home of Charles Dawes, who served in France during WWI. Dawes was close friends with General John Pershing, the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. The Archives at the History Center also houses numerous types of materials related to the war, including photographs and posters. The research room is open to the public.

The United States’ “official” WWI museum. The museum’s origins lie in the 1919 campaign started by citizens to build a memorial. The Liberty Memorial opened in 1926. The museum opened in 2006.

Reading List:

A Son at the Front(1923). Edith Wharton. Novel. See also Wharton’s Summer(1917), a novel set in the United States, but one that Wharton said was influenced by her experiences of living in France during the war. (Wharton worked to aid refugees from the war and in 1916 was awarded the FrenchLegion d’Honneur.

Scott’s Official History of the American Negro in the World War(1919) Emmett J. Scott. (Available for free here). A classic of African-American and military history. Scott’s catalogue chronicles African-American experiences and service during the war. Includes numerous photographs.

Two Colored Women with the American Expeditionary Forces(1920) Addie W. Hunton and Kathryn Magnolia Johnson. Memoir of two American women who volunteered to do overseas during the war. (Available for free on Google Books)

All Quiet on the Western Front(1929). Erich Maria Remarque. Novel. German. The classic anti-war novel about German soldiers during WWI.

Good-Bye to All That(1929) Robert Graves. Memoir. British. An autobiographical account by a WWI officer. A classic story that traces the end of “prewar” culture and the coming of the modern age.

A Farewell to Arms(1929) Ernest Hemingway. American. Novel. Based in part of Hemingway’s experience as a volunteer ambulance driver during WWI.

Memoirs of an Infantry Officer(1930) Siegfried Sassoon. Novel. British. Based on Sassoon’s experiences in WWI. Sassoon became one of the most famous poets of WWI.

Paths of Gloryby Humphrey Cobb (1935). American. Novel. Based on real events involving mutinies in the Allied armies on the Western Front. (Later made into the movie by the same name, directed by Stanley Kubrick.)

The Great War and Modern Memory(1975) Paul Fussell. Non-fiction. Examines the literature and symbolism of WWI. Fussell said he wrote the work out of anguish at the American involvement in Vietnam. Fussell had served in the infantry in World War II.

Regeneration(1991) Pat Barker. British. Novel, based on real events. Focuses on the war poets, “shell shock,” and the attempts to treat soldiers using psychoanalysis. First in a trilogy.

Birdsong(1993) Sebastian Faulks. British. Novel, part of a trilogy spanning WWI through WWII.

Join us for a morning celebration of International Women’s Day. Evanston women of all ages are invited to join us for a “Get To Know You” networking event. A light breakfast will be served. This event is free.

“A Life Worthwhile:”Lorraine H. Morton.Film Screening. Thursday, March 21, 2019, 7 p.m. (reception starts at 6:30 p.m.)EHC members are free!Click here to make a reservation.

Educator, Alderman, and Evanston’s first African American Mayor, Lorraine Hairston Morton served the Evanston community for over 50 years, guided by a simple statement her father passed down to her: “only a life of service, is a life worthwhile.” Join us for a screening of A Life Worthwhile, a film which documents and honors Morton’s life, career, and many accomplishments. The film is a production of Shorefront Films. A panel discussion will follow the screening. Presented in partnership with the Evanston Women’s History Project, the Frances Willard House Museum, and Shorefront Legacy Center.

EHC’s Women’s History Month programming is dedicated to Lorraine Morton.